Good portable ait compressor??

Presta24

New member
Whats a good compressor to pick up for airing up/down? I have a 3 gal pancake compressor already, can I just bring that along with me, or should I buy one of the tank less ones made for off roading?
 
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THe MV-90 really kicks butt. I dont have one, but those that do seem to like it. I have a co2 setup, but keep the $50 harbor freight compressor in my 4runner and use it when im not in a rush and the weather is nice. It does the job. Each tire take about 3-5 mins with the HF compressor, but it likes to overheat when you use it on summer days
 
THe MV-90 really kicks butt. I dont have one, but those that do seem to like it. I have a co2 setup, but keep the $50 harbor freight compressor in my 4runner and use it when im not in a rush and the weather is nice. It does the job. Each tire take about 3-5 mins with the HF compressor, but it likes to overheat when you use it on summer days

Id really like to have a Co2 set up, I don't think I will wheel THAT much, but man, even for road trips, whatever, I'm someone who enjoys doing my own automotive repairs, so to be able to do that any where is cool, what does a set up like that set somebody back? Nothin, fancy, just the basics.
 
Id really like to have a Co2 set up, I don't think I will wheel THAT much, but man, even for road trips, whatever, I'm someone who enjoys doing my own automotive repairs, so to be able to do that any where is cool, what does a set up like that set somebody back? Nothin, fancy, just the basics.

I have a CO2 setup right now that I was using in my XJ crawler. When I purchased everthing back oh...3-4 years ago, the 10 lb. aluminum cylinder was $75 including the certification and first fill. I paid another $35 for a 150psi fixed regulator and another $30 for a coil hose both from Cramer Decker Industries A couple more bucks for a hose fitting for the regulator and a air fitting for the hose from Home Depot/Lowes and you're ready to go. I also ended up getting a 10 lb. cylinder steel mount from Grainger for around $45 that you can mount the tank in your rig with and it clamps the cylinder tight.

It is a nice option, but depending on how much you use it..the refills can get annoying. When I was using it to fill my 35's from around 10psi back up to 30psi...I'd get about 4 to 5 trips out if I was lucky before I had to refill the cylinder. Refill at a local shop was $12-$15. Nice thing about the CO2 is that it fills pretty quick, you get 150psi immediately and all the time. CO2 also goes right to the last drop of use...not like a compressed air tank where the psi will drop off over a long period of time when it's getting low on pressure.
 
Id really like to have a Co2 set up, I don't think I will wheel THAT much, but man, even for road trips, whatever, I'm someone who enjoys doing my own automotive repairs, so to be able to do that any where is cool, what does a set up like that set somebody back? Nothin, fancy, just the basics.

I have a tank from air gas. So I just take back an empty tank and grab a new one. It's right around $15 to $20 to get a full one. To get in the program it was about $90 with a full tank. This I a nice option because you never have to worry about waiting for a fill or worrying about tank certs. I had a nitrogen regulator so I didn't have to buy one, but a fixed co2 regulator is cheap. Expect to pay about $35 for that. Then some hose and what not.

Or buy a compete kit for about $200. The source has a good deal. Get at least a 10 lb system. I'm thinking about upgrading to a 20 nex time I'm empty
 
I have a CO2 setup right now that I was using in my XJ crawler. When I purchased everthing back oh...3-4 years ago, the 10 lb. aluminum cylinder was $75 including the certification and first fill. I paid another $35 for a 150psi fixed regulator and another $30 for a coil hose both from Cramer Decker Industries A couple more bucks for a hose fitting for the regulator and a air fitting for the hose from Home Depot/Lowes and you're ready to go. I also ended up getting a 10 lb. cylinder steel mount from Grainger for around $45 that you can mount the tank in your rig with and it clamps the cylinder tight.

It is a nice option, but depending on how much you use it..the refills can get annoying. When I was using it to fill my 35's from around 10psi back up to 30psi...I'd get about 4 to 5 trips out if I was lucky before I had to refill the cylinder. Refill at a local shop was $12-$15. Nice thing about the CO2 is that it fills pretty quick, you get 150psi immediately and all the time. CO2 also goes right to the last drop of use...not like a compressed air tank where the psi will drop off over a long period of time when it's getting low on pressure.


I had about the same set up and got tired of getting refills. I went and got a Harbor Freight 12 volt for about 60 bucks. First one only lasted about two trips but Harbor Freight replaced it for free. Works good enough.
 
Think Im goin with the MV-50. Good price, duel cyl and not harbor freight, lol.

In another forum I read they are allot of posting about these two compressors. Neither are high end but overall it seems the MV-50 is a better choice then Harbor Freight. The only good thing about Harbor Freight is their customer service.
 
In another forum I read they are allot of posting about these two compressors. Neither are high end but overall it seems the MV-50 is a better choice then Harbor Freight. The only good thing about Harbor Freight is their customer service.

I can get a 12V @ harbor for $25, but its a single cyl and slower.
 
You may be looking at a different compressor, this is the one I was talking about:
12 Volt, 150 PSI High Volume Air Compressor

The MV and this one are very similar on performance, but it seems the MV is more reliable. HF has terrible quality control, sometimes you get a good product from them other times it fails quickly.

oh ok, I was looking at this one....12V Air Compressor - 120 PSI, High Volume

this is the MV-50....Amazon.com: Q Industries MV50 SuperFlow Hi-Volume Air Compressor: Automotive
 

If you have a Harbor freight close I would get the Harbor Freight, if yours fail they have good warranties. If you are ordering of the net I would get the MV, they seem more reliable. Both are low end and cheap so you cannot expect them to last forever. If you want to go high end for a 12 volt than you want to go Vivar but you will pay for the quality.
 

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